Itâs true when they say you havenât seen the best of it until you have answered your true calling. It is almost as if fate comes calling when you are sharing a smoke with your friends or enjoying a wildlife safari in the middle of nowhere.

Nature lover and ace photographer Aditya Singh hadnât known what was about to hit him when he was out in the wild at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, working on a documentary film for BBC. 

© Aditya Singh

Recalling the life-altering experience that awaited him, Aditya told MensXP, âI was working on a documentary film for BBC. They were making back-to-back two films there, with 200 hundred days of the shoot. During that time I once saw this male predator cross the reserve and go to the adjacent barren piece of land. That got me thinking and I started digging up about this piece of land.â

When realisation struck, Aditya figured out that numerous sub-adult tigers seek out the barren piece of land around the reserve when they have to leave their family unit. Thatâs when Aditya made a decision that would change life as he knew it. âI figured that the piece of land was relatively cheapâ and so he decided to leave his previous life behind, buy the piece of land and settle down smack amidst the wilderness.

© Aditya Singh

However, Aditya is quick to share that there were other factors at play too. âMy wife and I moved to Ranthambore from Delhi in early 1998. Back then we were doing our own thing and werenât really happy with how things were going. What we really wanted to do was to settle down near a forest and lead a laid back, environment-friendly life.â And just like that, Aditya and his wife Poonam packed their lives in a suitcase, leaving behind their well-paying jobs and comforts of the city, for a life in Sawai Madhopur.

© Ashish Parmar

That was 22 years ago, and today, Aditya and Poonam own most of the land surrounding the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.

It started with a single piece of land that Aditya and Poonam bought with the savings they had earlier set aside for a car. âWe wanted to take a piece of land and convert it into a climate change frontier, basically a space that recharges water levels and welcomes wildlife to sustain.â

© Aditya Singh

But what started out as a small area of land, has now transformed into 35 acres of land surrounding the Reserve, and it hasnât really been a cakewalk. Aditya says, âAt that point, we thought we could afford it, because my wife and I were just the two of us and didnât have familial responsibilities holding us back. Coming from small towns also ensured we had good savings and thatâs how we launched ourselves into buying pieces of land over time.â

© Aditya Singh

But arranging the funds was just the start, and the more difficult bit came after. âSo, while buying land in such random (and far off, remote) areas one needs to start networking. The very first time, it took us almost a yearâs time to convince the landowners of our intentions - that we arenât buying the land to build a hotel or sell it off after we get enough appreciation.â

However, post this initial hurdle, Aditya saw things becoming much easier, âOnce convinced they were more willing to sell their land. We were even able to rope in one of the sons of the most influential family in the village who became the caretaker of our piece of land. Then we just fenced the barren piece of land and left it as is. At this point, the only thing we had to ensure was that no one was grazing their cattle on our land or cutting anything that grows on it.â

© Aditya Singh

This one decision would eventually end up changing not only Aditya and Poonamâs lives, but also all those numerous tigers, wild boars, leopards, nilgai and deers in the area who are frequent visitors on their piece of land. âFor the first 4-5 years, only bushes grew, followed by the first trees a few years later. In the meantime, we kept adding more and more land, and eventually managed to kind of cordon off the entire tiger reserve.â

© Aditya Singh

Today, almost 22 years later, Aditya says he is stuck with these pieces of land that everybody wants to buy, but he doesnât want to sell. Itâs kind of also become a liability for him because Aditya and Poonam now have a daughter and need to take care of her. But with so much land to take care of, their savings have reduced to almost nothing.  

© Aditya Singh

But Aditya also proudly shared how they managed to turn their forest into a big water recharge space. âWe have created ditch dams, so with rainfall, the ditch gets filled up with muck but the small dam behind it stays. So, the rainwater instead of moving out of the land, stays in it till it is all absorbed into the ground. While earlier we used to find water at 40 ft below the ground, we now find it at 8 ft. So imagine the difference it has made because merely a kilometre away from us your borewell has to be at a depth of 450 meters below the ground to find water.â

© Aditya Singh

Having come such a long way over the last 22 years, one would expect Aditya to have faced quite a few challenges along the way, but all he says is that, âYou have to give it a lot of time.â Farmlands are usually monoculture so it takes time for other plants and trees to find their footing on the land. Then there is the nuisance called weeds, which has to be taken care of manually.â 

© Aditya Singh

But besides that, itâs ânetworking with the locals which is very time-consuming. It takes years to convince them that you wonât plot the land and sell it. However, after those initial few years, it gets easier to convince people or gather helping hands.â

Today with very little land left to be bought in the area, at 53, Aditya is looking forward to retiring and perhaps also trying his hands at film making after having worked as a field assistant for filmmakers for the last 22 years, besides letting his forest spill magic for years to come.

© Aditya Singh

At a time when the world is losing out on these beautiful creatures of the wild in the most tragic ways, not only did Adityaâs thoughtful efforts give a fresh lease of life to the tawny predators, it also ensured that other animals of the wild found a safe haven in his forest, away from their own.

With his lush forest, all with their watering holes and ample hunting offerings, Aditya has managed to preserve and further a sanctuary for the wild beasts who deserve to live like the royalty that they are.

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